Wrapping machine for spheroidal bodies, particularly citrus fruit

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a machine for wrapping spheroid bodies, particularly citrus fruit, which includes conveyor means for conveying said bodies above a hopper containing a pile of sheets of wrapping paper, means for distributing glue onto said bodies and rotating said bodies before their arrival at said hopper, and a closure station for closing the ends of the cylindrical wrappings formed by the adhesive contact between each rotating body and a relative sheet of wrapping paper.

United States Patent Inventor Appl No,

Filed Patented Assignee Priority Aurelio Mingotti Imola, Bologna, Italy Feb. 24, I969 J uly I3, 1971 S.A.C.M.l. Cooperativa Meccanici lmola Societa Cooperative a responsabilita limitata lmola, Bologna, Italy Mar. 15,1968

Italy WRAPPING MACHINE FOR SPHEROIDAL BODIES, PARTICULARLY CITRUS FRUIT 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 53/214, 53/217, 53/370 Int. Cl 865!) 11/14, B65b 51/00 [50] Field of Search 53/214, 216, 217, 227, 370

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,862, l70 6/1932 Andelin 53/214 3,059,392 10/1962 Fabbri 53/227 Primary ExaminerTheron E. Condon Assistant Examiner-Neil Abrams Attorneys-Guido Modiano and Albert Josif ABSTRACT: This disclosure relates to a machine for wrapping spheroid bodies, particularly citrus fruit, which includes conveyor means for conveying said bodies above a hopper containing a pile of sheets of wrapping paper, means for distributing glue onto said bodies and rotating said bodies before their arrival at said hopper, and a closure station for closing the ends of the cylindrical wrappings formed by the adhesive contact between each rotating body and a relative sheet of wrapping paper.

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WRAPPING MACHINE FOR SPHEROIDAL BODIES, PARTICULARLY CITRUS FRUIT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a machine for wrapping spheroidal products, such as for example citrus fruits, in sheets of paper or the like.

With particular reference to this kind of product, it is quite normal, as is known to place them in commerce after having individually covered them with a thin sheet of paper which usually indicates the place of origin thereof. For this purpose, sheets of paper are employed whose width exceeds on both bands the axial development of the fruit so as to permit the wrapping of the product by means of twisting of the exceeding portions of the wrapping paper.

Until now the wrapping of citrus fruits is carried out mainly by hand and this leads to an increased working, while the cost of labor weights heavily on the wrapped product.

The present invention is consequently designed to overcome these inconveniences by providing a machine for the operators in this field which carries out automatically the wrapping of spheroid bodies such as citrus fruits with high productional efficiency, the machine in question being of sim ple construction, of ready manufacture and of limited size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided a machine for wrapping and enclosing spheroid bodies, particularly citrus fruits, in sheets of paper and the like, comprising a feeding member from which the bodies to be wrapped are withdrawn by means of a continuous withdrawal unit, a continuous conveying unit which receives the bodies to be wrapped from said continuous withdrawal unit and transfers them to a glue distributor; the bodies to be wrapped being subjected along said transfer and adjacent the glue distributor to a rolling about an axis transverse to the direction of advancement so that an equatorial band of the bodies is covered by the glue, and further comprising a hopper of paper sheets for the wrapping and having a feed outlet on the rolling plane of the bodies to be wrapped so that the uppermost sheet remains tangentially adhering to the surface of the body to wrap adjacent the equatorial zone having the glue and assumes a cylindrical conformation and finally a closure station where the ends of the cylinder are closed by twisting by suitable pincer members cyclically controlled by cam means, said means also being arranged to remove the already wrapped bodies from the workline.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clear and evident from the following detailed description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a wrapping machine according to the invention, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken and diagrammatic, of the feeding unit of the citrus fruits;

FIG. 2 shows in perspective and partially exploded view and by transparence the distributor of glueing material;

FIG. 3 shows in perspective view and partly broken, the hopper for the sheets of paper and the relative means which enable the progressive withdrawal of the said sheets;

FIG. 4 and its detail FIG. 4a show, in perspective and partially broken view, one of the pincer members which grasp the lateral ends of the wrapping and the rneans which after grasping impart a rolling motion to the bodies causing the wrapping ends to be twisted;

FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively show a longitudinal section of one of the pincer members and a front view of the actuation means thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With particular reference to FIG. 1, the machine according to the invention is provided, upstream, with a continuous withdrawal unit which comprises the feeding member 1, constituted by a sort of box which is longitudinally elongated and suitably shaped, in which the bodies 2 to be wrapped are bulk arranged. The feeding member 1 is upwardly open and has a slight upward inclination in the direction of motion of the bodies 2 and is suitably supported by the framework of the machine. Such bodies 2 are in the present example citrus fruits which, in the figures, are represented as lemons.

Below the feeding member 1 there is provided a first conveyor which comprises a pair of chains 3 which are rotated by the horizontal shaft 4 in the direction indicated by the arrow A through sprockets 5 with which said chains 3 mesh. The shaft 4 is rotatably mounted on supports 4a provided on the framework of the machine as another shaft arranged downstream and in higher position (in FIG. 1 it is hidden) on which further driven sprockets are mounted. The chains 3 carry roll members or rollers 6 which are rotatably mounted on said chains in spaced relationship to one another. The rollers have a concave curve as generatrix, such that at the center they make a kind of saddle. The upper portions of the chains 3, and thus also the rollers 6, penetrate into the feeding member I through the aperture 1a longitudinally provided on the inclined bottom thereof, so that the bodies 2 are raised one after another, arranged in the gaps between the rollers, until they exit from the feeding member through the mouth lb provided in the upper zone of the walls of the feeding member.

Here the bodies 2 pass on to the upper portion of a second conveyor (chains 7-roll members 8) which is arranged horizontal and is driven by the driving means of the machine. Said conveyor advances in the direction indicated by the vector B and is wound on pairs of toothed wheels 9 mounted on support elements 10 of the framework of the machine. The second conveyor has a speed which is a multiple, for example double, of that of the first conveyor, so that the bodies alternately fill the spaces between the rollers 8. At the entrance of the second conveyor there is provided a brush unit 11 which is mounted with axis horizontal on the framework 10 and has a central saddlelike form. Such unit 11, duly actuated, does not allow the passage of more than one body at a time, avoiding a possible excessive withdrawal from the first conveyor. During the advance of the second conveyor, the rollers 8, which are rotatable with respect to the chains 7, receive a rotational motion about their axes in order to orientate the bodies 2 with their main or polar axes transverse to the direction of advancement. This rotational movement is provided by a pair of endless belts I2, 13 arranged below the chains 7 which, suitably driven, follow with their upper portions the upper portions of the chains 7 and engage peripherally the rollers 8 on both ends thereof. Near to the return point of the second conveyor there is arranged a glue distributor 14 (FIG. 2) which is formed as a sort of U-shaped tube. One branch of the tube constitutes the reservoir 14a, in which the glue material is inserted through a top opening, such glue being practically constituted by dextrine in thick paste. Inside the other branch or chamber 14b remaining below the work line, there is housed a horizontal axis disc 15 whose shaft 15a is rotatably supported by the walls of said chamber 14b from which it projects outwards in the opposite direction with respect to the reservoir 14a and carries keyed thereon a toothed wheel 16. The base portion 14c of the distributor, which connects the reservoir 14a and the chamber 14 b, comprises a passage in which rollers 17 and 18 are housed which touch each other according a generatrix. Such rollers 17 and 18 have an elongate form so as to penetrate, on one side, into the reservoir 14a and, on the other side, into the chamber 14b and are rotatably carried by the opposite walls of the distributor 14. The shaft 17a of the roller 17 projects from the distributor 14 at both ends. On the side of the toothed wheel I6,

the shaft ll7a carries keyed thereon a pinion 17b which meshes with said toothed wheel I6, and moreover carries another toothed wheel (not shown in the figure), driven by the chain 19, which transmits the motion to the shaft 17a and is driven by the driving means of the machine. On the other side of the shaft 170 there is keyed the pinion 20 which meshes with a similar pinion 2ll keyed on the shaft of the roller 18. The roller 17 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow C and is pro vided with a helical cavity 170 the spin of which is such that the glue runs along said cavity. The rollers ll7 and 118 form a sort of pump which transfers the glue from the reservoir 14a to the chamber 14b, spreading it on said roller 18 which is engaged by the distributor disc 15 and passes the glue thereto. The upper arc of the disc 15 projects from the chamber 14 through a longitudinal slot 22a ofa chute 22 arranged in alignment with the second conveyor. The chute 22, which is upwardly concave in cross section, has the form of a reversed roofing tile along which the spheroidal bodies 2 roll, maintaining the orientation assumed, as they leave the second conveyor. This is helped by the means designed to impart a rolling motion to said bodies 2 and in practice formed by the lower portions of a pair of flexible endless belts 23 which, (as will better appear hereinafter) overhang the work line and the chute 22, engage with a suitable pressure the bodies 2 leaving the second conveyor and move them in the direction indicated by the arrow D to the wrapping station. On the way the bodies 2 come into contact with the periphery of the distributor disc 15 which deposits a film of glue onto an equatorial zone of them.

The bodies 2 pass then from the chute 22 to a hopper generally indicated at 24 in FIG. 3. Said hopper 24 comprises a U-bent plate 24a, which is upwardly and downwardly open and fixed to the framework of the machine, while its wall 241; is slidably engaged in guides 24c defined at the edges of the plate 240 and is secured thereto by screw means 25. Inside the hopper 24 there is arranged a pile of thin sheets 26 of paper, which pile is introduced through the aperture left free by the removal of the wall 24b, and is supported by the mobile bottom 27 which pushes the pile against the upper edges 24d of the walls of the hopper 24.

As is shown in FIG. 3 the bottom 27 is carried by two telescopic columns 28 which are connected to the lateral projec tions of a sleeve 29 and supported by a transom 30 secured to the framework of the machine. The sleeve 29 is provided with an internal thread in which a threaded portion 31a of a shaft 31 is screwed. Said shaft 31 is rotatably mounted in the transom 30 and extends below the latter, carrying at its lower end a conical pinion 32. The latter is in mesh with the conical toothed wheel 33 keyed on a horizontal shaft 34 which is rotatably carried in supports 34a of the framework of thc machine. At one of its ends such shaft 34 carries keyed thereon a saw-toothed wheel 35 and, more externally, a handwheel 36. On the shaft 34, adjacent the wheel 35, there is then idly mounted a plate forming a side of an articulated quadrilateral system which further comprises a tie rod 37 and an eccentric member 38 keyed on the shaft 39 which is supported at 39a in the framework of the machine and is driven, in known manner and of continuous motion, by the driving means of the machine. On the plate 40 there is arranged a pawl 41 which is subjected to the action of an electromagnet 42 which is also carried by the same plate 40. The electromagnet 42 is electrically connected to a microswitch (not shown) which is actuated by a tongue 43 situated in a slot of the edge 24d of the hopper 24. The tongue 43 detects if the upper surface of the pile of sheets 26 is on the rolling plane of the bodies 2. In the absence of sheets 26 in the desired quota, the tongue 43 lowers, closing the microswitch and energizing the electromagnet 42 which takes the pawl 41 into engagement with the toothed wheel 35, causing the shaft 34 to rotate and the bottom 27 of said hopper 24 to rise for the progressive feeding of the sheets 26. For the introduction of the pile of sheets into the hopper 24, it is necessary to remove the wall 24b and to lower of the bottom 27 to the lowest level by acting on the handwheel 36. By rolling on the uppermost sheet 26 of the pile, the body 2 extracts such sheet from the hopper due to the glue which it has received from the disc l5 and winds the sheet about itself, forming a cylindrical wrapping which, under the action of the belts 23, continues to roll together with the relative body 2 as far as they arrive one by one at a platform 44 of the successive cylindrical wrapping closure station. The platform 44 (see FIGS. 4 and 4a is fast with a stud 44a inserted in a sleeve 45 carried by a transom 46, which is secured to the frame of the machine. Between the stud 44a and the bottom of the sleeve 45 there is interposed a helical spring 48 which renders elastically depressable the platform 44 as deducible from FIG. 4a. Below the side of the platform 44 opposite to the one adjacent the hopper 24, there is arranged a pair of ears 44b which support a shaft, on which a first concave roller 49a (FIG. 4) is idly mounted. A second and analogous roller 4% is carried idly in front of the roller 490 by a pair of arms fulcrumed on the supporting shaft of the roller 49a. Such arms 50 are articulated at their other end to the arms of a fork 51 which is pivoted to a shaft 52 carried by a pair of levers 53 which are rotatably fixed on a rod 54 whose ends are supported in the sidewalls of the machine (only sidewall 47 is shown). The arms 50 and the levers 53 with the fork 51 constitute a framework capable of oscillating. The fixed forth side of the framework or quadrilateral system is of variable length depending upon the distance of the platform 44 with respect to the rod 54. In fact, if a body 2, which arrives on the platform 44, has dimensions slightly greater or smaller than normal, the platform 44 (and consequently the pair of rollers 49a and 49b) sinks or rises since the belts 23, as will be seen hereinafter, press on the body 2 pushing it, besides causing it to rotate, downwards. To the rod 54 there is fixed the end of a lever 55 whose other end is articulated to an adjustable tie rod 56 which is articulated to the center of a second underlying lever 57. This second lever 57 is fast at one end with a transverse shaft 58 which is rotatably supported by the two sidewalls 47 of the machine; on the free end of said lever 57 acts a spring 59 which is secured to an element provided on the framework of the machine. The spring 59 urges the lever 57 upwards, so that a roller 60, carried eccentrically and idly by the shaft 58, engages forcibly the periphery of a rotatable disc 61 which lies between the two sidewalls 47 of the machine framework. The central zone of the periphery of the disc 61 defines a radial cam with a constant curvature, except for a portion of limited angular width which (see FIG. 6) has a depression 62. It is evident that the arms 50 and therefore the rollers 49a and 49b remain on a horizontal plane for the arc of constant curvature, whilst the roller 49!; lowers sharply when the roller 60 rolls upon such depression 62.

Laterally to the zone of the periphery on which the roller 60 rolls, the disc 61 is provided with two grooves 63 whose depth is constant. The two grooves 63 are symmetric with respect to the plane of the disc 61 and each of them comprises two portions, lying in different planes parallel to the median plane of the disc, and suitably closed in order to form symmetric axial cams. In the zone of depression 62 (FIG. 6) the grooves 63 have the greatest reciprocal distance. The disc 61 is keyed on a shaft 64 rotatably supported by the sidewalls 47 of the machine and driven by a chain 65 which transmits the motion to a sprocket 66 keyed on the shaft 64. The angular velocity of the shaft 64 is suitably ratioed to the speed of advance of the bodies and the direction of rotation is that indicated by the arrow E in FIG. 4. In order to prevent angular accelerations of the shaft 64, there is provided a braking system comprising a pulley 67 fast with the shaft itself and peripherally engaged by a belt 68 which is secured at its two ends to members fast with the contiguous sidewall 47.

In each of said sidewalls 47 of the machine framework a rod 69 is slidably supported which passes transversally through said walls and is prismatically engaged therein. The ends of the rods 69, which are parallel to the axis of the disc 6i and in alignment each other, idly carry rollers 70 (FIG. 6) which engage the relative grooves 63, which thus move the rods 69 axially. At the end external to the relative wall 47, each rod 69 has a forked portion 69a (FIG. 4) and is articulated to the lower end of a lever 71 which is fulcrumed to a support 72, also fork-shaped laterally extending from the same wall 47. The upper end of each lever 71 defines a fork 71a whose arms drive, as explained hereinafter, a pincer member generally indicated at 73. r

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, where a pincer member is 'shown in the closed and open positions respectively (in FIG. 5

it is also shown, in dotted lines, in the closed position), it may be'seen that in a through hole 470 of the sidewall 47 there is inserted a sleeve 74 which partly threaded on its exterior for the coupling with two nuts 75a and 75b which, locking between themselves the wall 47, lock the sleeve in a position which is more or less far from the rollers 49a and 49b. A rod 76 of suitable length is inserted in the sleeve 74 and projects therefrom, on the outer side, with a threaded portion 76a. The other end portion 76b of the rod 76 has a series of annular grooves whose axial section defines a rack. Adjacent the sleeve 74, a pair of nuts 77 is screwed to the portion 76a to form a first shoulder for stopping the arms of the actuation fork 714; the other shoulder for said arms is formed by a resilient system which comprises a first bush 78a, which is open towards the nuts 77 and secured to the end zone of the portion 76a by means of a nut 78c, and a second bush 78b, which is reversed with respect to the first bush and slides on the portion 76a and inside said bush 78a, between the bottoms of the two bushes there being interposed a spring 79 which urges the second bush 78b towards the arms of the fork 7 la.

Four annular sectors 74a, suitably spaced from each other, project from the internal front of the sleeve 74. Between two contiguous sectors there is pivoted, by means of a pin 80a, the end of a rocking lever 80 which is provided with a toothing 80b designed to mesh with the grooved portion 76b of the rod 76. Each rocking lever 80 forms part of a relative articulated quadrilateral system, of which the other rocking lever 81 is an ticulated by a pin 81:: to respective radially projecting portions of a ring 82 which is secured to the sleeve 74 by screw means 820. The said articulated quadrilaterals, which lie in diametrically opposite positions like a cross, finally comprise the jaws 83 which are articulated to the corresponding ends of the rocking levers 81 and 82 by pins 83a and 83b. The active ends 83c of the jaws are suitably shaped and are slightly projecting outside the boundary of the respective articulated quadrilateral so as to come into contact and to tighten the ends of the cylindrical wrapping wound about the fruit 2.

Advantageously the portion of the rocking levers 80 near to the pins 83b, is curved towards the adjacent rocking lever 81 in order to avoid any engagement with the wrapping. Due to the articulated systems, the spreading of the arms 83 is considerable such as the ends 83c thereof (see FIG. 5) do not hamper the arrival of the wrapped fruit.

The pair of pincers 73 operates at the level of the projecting ends of the tubular wrapping, due to the fact that the rollers 49a and 49b, when they lie on a horizontal plane, support the fruit which arrives thereto in such a way that the axis of the latter is practically aligned to the axis of the rods 76.

Upon arrival of a body 2 on the rollers 49a and lb of the oscillating framework, the pincers are open; the rollers 70 are then in the more external portions of the grooves 63. When the rollers 70 engage successively the inner portion of said grooves, they cause the rods 76 to slide outwards and the pincer members to grip the ends of the tubular wrapping which, since the body 2 is rotating about its axis at high speed, as will be seen hereinafter, are closed by twisting. Then, see also FIG. 6, the rollers 70 pass again into the outer portions, reopening the pincers, while the disc 60 rolls on the depression 62 causing the roller 4912 through the levers 5l58 to suddenly lower and the body 2, definitely wrapped in the wrapping, to be removed from the machine through suitable conveying means (not shown), which may be of conventional type.

The belts 23 which, following the path of the fruit downstream ofthe second conveyor, impart to the fruits a rotating motion, are indicated by dotted lines'in FlG. 4. They are driven by the pair of pulleys 84 and travel on the pairs of pulleys 85a, 85b and 85c mounted idle in suitable positions on the longitudinal frame 86 with their axes transverse to the side portions of the latter. The longitudinal frame 86, which, in FIG. 4, is partially broken away and a little above its real position, remains above the previously described units and extends longitudinally to the machine. The frame 86 is articulated, in supports 870 provided on the upper part of the framework of the machine, by the shaft 87 which carries the driving pulleys 84 and the pulley 88 on which the belt 89 is wound driven by the machine. Behind the shaft 87, the frame 86 carries the counterweight 90. Between the element 86a, transverse to the frame 86 adjacent its front zone, and the relative element 91, secured instead to the framework of the machine there remains interposed the spring 92, so that, in normalposition, the frame 86 is pushed in manner such that the lower portions of the belts 23 engage the fruit 2 and simultaneously cause it to rotate and to advance.

The belts 23 then abandon the fruit 2 adjacent the idle rollers 49a and 4912; at this point, in order to provide the wrapped fruit with the rotation speed necessary for the twisting of the ends of the wrapping, the fruit, supported by said rollers 49a and 49b, is upwardly engaged along its equatorial band by the disc 93 which has a peripheral covering of resilient material. Said disc is keyed on a shaft mounted transverse to the frame 86, and it assumes a high peripheral speed since the pulley 94, carried by its shaft, is driven by a multiplication system comprising the belts 95 and 96, and a pair of intermediate pulleys 97 keyed on an idle shaft which is supported on the frame 86, such system being again driven by the shaft 87.

From tests carried out it has been ascertained that the layer of glue which is applied to zones of the surface of the fruit does not give rise to inconveniences: in fact due to the surface characteristics of the particular type of fruits being worked and above all the type of glue employed, this latter practically does not succeed in sticking to the citrus fruits; in fact the glue is absorbed by the sheet of wrapping; on the other hand the glue dries very rapidly. it may also be noted that the possible lack of product does not cause any impediment in the working of the machine: the sheet is not withdrawn, while the glue distributor unit and the closure station operate idly.

The machine according to the invention may be subject to numerous modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for wrapping spheroidal bodies, particularly citrus fruits, in sheets of paper or the like, comprising a feeding member for the bodies to be wrapped, a first conveyor to withdraw said bodies from said feeding member, a second conveyor downstream of said first conveyor receiving said bodies from said first conveyor, means for adjusting said bodies with one axis of symmetry substantially orthogonal to the advancing direction, a glue distributor arranged after said second conveyor, means for advancing the bodies from said second conveyor to said glue distributor in order to become provided with a zone of glue around their periphery, a hopper containing a stack of paper sheets positioned near said glue distributor, means for advancing said bodies provided with a zone of glue over said stack of paper sheets causing the topmost sheet to attach to the body rolled thereon to form a cylindrical wrapping, and a pair of pincer members to shut said cylindrical wrapping during a twisting movement of the ends thereof, wherein according to the improvement, the machine further comprises a platform arranged adjacent to said hopper, means for elastically displace said platform near a position substantially in alignment with said topmost sheet of paper, a framework arranged after said platform and capable of carrying out an oscillating movement with respect to said platform, at least a pair of substantially parallel rollers idly supported by said framework substantially transverse to the advancing direction of the bodies, said framework and said pair of rollers being arranged at a height at which said axis of symmetry of said bodies is in alignment with said pincer members, driving means near said framework to cause said bodies enveloped inside said cylindrical wrapping to rotate on said pair of rollers and cam means arranged near said framework for actuating said pincer members and for controlling said oscillating movement of said framework and causing the removal of the bodies after twisting the wrapping ends.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said means for adjusting said bodies with one axis of symmetry substantially orthogonal to the advancing direction comprise a plurality of roll members having a saddle shape, a pair of parallel endless chains idly supporting said roll members, at a suitable reciprocal distance, a pair of parallel endless belts arranged below said chains and engaging peripherically said rollers on both ends thereof causing them to rotate and to adjust said bodies thereon.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said means for advancing the bodies from said second conveyor to said glue distributor and said means for advancing said bodies over said stack of paper sheets comprise a longitudinal frame oscillatingly supported above said glue distributor and extending all over said glue distributor, said hopper of stack of paper sheets, said platform and said framework, a plurality of pulleys provided at least at the ends of said longitudinal frame, at least a pair of said pulleys being driven by driving means, a pair of endless belts wound on said pulleys and engaging with their lower portions said bodies on two peripheral zones causing them to advance with a rotating movement, and resilient means urging said longitudinal frame downwards and said endless belts against said bodies.

4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said pincer members shutting said cylindrical wrapping are supported non rotatably by the sidewalls of the machine and said driving means to cause said bodies enveloped inside said cylindrical wrapping to rotate on said pair of rollers comprise a rotating disc arranged above said rollers and supported by said longitudinal frame, said rotating disc being urged against the periphery of said cylindrical wrapping causing it to rotate over said pair of rollers and the ends of said wrapping engaged by said pincer members to be twisted for shutting said wrapping.

5. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said framework capable of carrying out an oscillating movement comprises two pairs of articulated levers arranged substantially parallel to each other and forming a first articulated quadrilateral oscillating around two parallel and horizontal axes, the upper pair of said levers being pivoted to said platform and carrying said pair of rollers, a first rod passing through the fixed articulation point of said lower pair of levers and fast thereto, a second articulated quadrilateral arranged oscillating in a vertical plane under said first articulated quadrilateral, a first lever of said second articulated quadrilater being fast to said first rod and a second lever substantially parallel to said first lever being fast to a second rod parallel to said first rod and supported rotatably by the sidewalls of the machine, an idle roller eccentrically supported by said second rod and a rotatable disc member having a radial cam groove on its peripheral surface receiving said idle roller and causing said first and said second articulated quadrilateral to oscillate and free the bodies already wrapped. 

1. A machine for wrapping spheroidal bodies, particularly citrus fruits, in sheets of paper or the like, comprising a feeding member for the bodies to be wrapped, a first conveyor to withdraw said bodies from said feeding member, a second conveyor downstream of said first conveyor receiving said bodies from said first conveyor, means for adjusting said bodies with one axis of symmetry substantially orthogonal to the advancing direction, a glue distributor arranged after said second conveyor, means for advancing the bodies from said second conveyor to said glue distributor in order to become provided with a zone of glue around their periphery, a hopper containing a stack of paper sheets positioned near said glue distributor, means for advancing said bodies provided with a zone of glue over said stack of paper sheets causing the topmost sheet to attach to the body rolled thereon to form a cylindrical wrapping, and a pair of pincer members to shut said cylindrical wrapping during a twisting movement of the ends thereof, wherein according to the improvement, the machine further comprises a platform arranged adjacent to said hopper, means for elastically displace said platform near a position substantially in alignment with said topmost sheet of paper, a framework arranged after said platform and capable of carrying out an oscillating movement with respect to said platform, at least a pair of substantially parallel rollers idly supported by said framework substantially transverse to the advancing direction of the bodies, said framework and said pair of rollers being arranged at a height at which said axis of symmetry of said bodies is in alignment with said pincer members, driving means near said framework to cause said bodies enveloped inside said cylindrical wrapping to rotate on said pair of rollers and cam means arranged near said framework for actuating said pincer members and for controlling said oscillating movement of said framework and causing the removal of the bodies after twisting the wrapping ends.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said means for adjusting said bodies with one axis of symmetry substantially orthogonal to the advancing direction comprise a plurality of roll members having a saddle shape, a pair of parallel endless chains idly supporting said roll members, at a suitable reciprocal distance, a pair of parallel endless belts arranged below said chains and engaging peripherically said rollers on both ends thereof causing them to rotate and to adjust said bodies thereon.
 3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said means for advancing the bodies from said seconD conveyor to said glue distributor and said means for advancing said bodies over said stack of paper sheets comprise a longitudinal frame oscillatingly supported above said glue distributor and extending all over said glue distributor, said hopper of stack of paper sheets, said platform and said framework, a plurality of pulleys provided at least at the ends of said longitudinal frame, at least a pair of said pulleys being driven by driving means, a pair of endless belts wound on said pulleys and engaging with their lower portions said bodies on two peripheral zones causing them to advance with a rotating movement, and resilient means urging said longitudinal frame downwards and said endless belts against said bodies.
 4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said pincer members shutting said cylindrical wrapping are supported non rotatably by the sidewalls of the machine and said driving means to cause said bodies enveloped inside said cylindrical wrapping to rotate on said pair of rollers comprise a rotating disc arranged above said rollers and supported by said longitudinal frame, said rotating disc being urged against the periphery of said cylindrical wrapping causing it to rotate over said pair of rollers and the ends of said wrapping engaged by said pincer members to be twisted for shutting said wrapping.
 5. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said framework capable of carrying out an oscillating movement comprises two pairs of articulated levers arranged substantially parallel to each other and forming a first articulated quadrilateral oscillating around two parallel and horizontal axes, the upper pair of said levers being pivoted to said platform and carrying said pair of rollers, a first rod passing through the fixed articulation point of said lower pair of levers and fast thereto, a second articulated quadrilateral arranged oscillating in a vertical plane under said first articulated quadrilateral, a first lever of said second articulated quadrilater being fast to said first rod and a second lever substantially parallel to said first lever being fast to a second rod parallel to said first rod and supported rotatably by the sidewalls of the machine, an idle roller eccentrically supported by said second rod and a rotatable disc member having a radial cam groove on its peripheral surface receiving said idle roller and causing said first and said second articulated quadrilateral to oscillate and free the bodies already wrapped. 